Posted: Fri May 08, 2009 11:44 am Post subject:
Is the Kyma system right for me?

I have been in two minds about this ever since the announcement of the Paca, finally bringing Kyma within reach for poor amateurs like me.

The question remains though; mainly because of the price, which could be spent wisely on other gear and software, no doubt. If I were to go all-out on that front, I would get fairly close to the £3000 which the Paca and a good sound card, + duties etc. would amount to in the end...

I do not have much experience with computers and programming, but after having read the 'Kyma X Revealed', the concept of some scripting in parameter fields do not seem overwhelming. My experience is in hardware and synthesis, I have no problems finding my way around a pro studio, and the top levels of Reactor are fairly easy for me to understand.

I want to use Kyma for all sorts of things and ideas that I have, building arrays of delays, combined synthesis, convolution experiments, spectral processing and for those "what if..." moments. I also want to explore algorithmic composition eventually, as well as use it for simpler things like looping and sampling. I have too many ideas, and learning programming is one way to explore this, as is some of the open-ended software like Audiomulch, Plogue and so on... But Kyma seems to have it all, and I have had my eye on it for about 15 years after a friend of mine introduced me to it.

And it just sounds great!

Sorry for long post, but I am really not sure whether I should invest in it. Any opinions are welcome!_________________Muied Lumens Base Star

Sure, you can get many other tools to combine into a system, but we all know how that works.....

To me it sounds like you just don't like the price. Well, consider that a moog voyager costs about the same amount, or a Nord Wave or an Alesis Andromeda...then you understand that the Kyma is a bargain.

I don't really mind the price, given what you get for it - but it's psychological. Since I am not a pro, spending that amount in one go is a bit daunting, that's all.

I am a bit worried that I will not be computer-literate enough to get started, even if the impression I get from the manual is the opposite. I guess I am worried about nothing... and trying to make absolutely sure that my gear lust is not getting the better of me.

Hmmm, Reaktor. I'm not a big fan I must admit. I have had some fun with Synthedit, even though it is more restricted. I am not interested in creating UI's, and on a macro level Kyma just seems more fluid to me.

I know that Mosc owns a Kyma system and a Nord G2 and ended up swaying more towards the G2 as it to is really a big DSP engine but with knobs, display, and a keyboard and allows a fantastic "virtual modular" approach to sound design of which all manner of feedback experments can take place. You might want to consider maybe a second hand G2? Just a quick though after reading the thread. I know that "Blue Hell" can speak more fluidly about the G2 than I can ... I believe he has been using the G2 for his "Washing Machine" experiments ... I will let him explain if he wants ...

Heh. There's no other name for it when things get out of control and it is trying to break out of your speakers!

I love the Nord family, and the G2 is my favourite. Its major short-coming in my eyes is the lack of sampling. If it weren't for that I would already own one. I'd be happy with just a few Mb's! I will keep an eye on the second hand market, although for the moment the Blofeld is ahead of it on my wish list.

The general consensus seems to be that Kyma is not a be-all, end-all system, but it is hard to beat in terms of experimental sound design and sonic adventures._________________Muied Lumens Base Star

The general consensus seems to be that Kyma is not a be-all, end-all system, but it is hard to beat in terms of experimental sound design and sonic adventures

As mentioned earlier, maybe MAX/MSP could be a good candidate for now? You have sampling and synthesis. You see it everywhere in academia and general use. Might be worth a try? Certainly cheaper than Kyma (I know you mentioned money is not the issue) and maybe give you more time to think about things.

After a month when you haven't managed to make it do anything at all you can have a re-think.

I have fumbled with MAX/MSP for over a year and have made it do nothing worthwhile at all apart from change a few Lemur related sequencers, I keep going back to it as it cost a fair bit of money but don't seem to get any further. It makes Reaktor seem straightforward!

I have played around with PD, on and off for a year or so and I still have not made a single interesting thing in it! My attempts have been half-hearted, but I also have a problem with the whole thought process behind it. This is no doubt because I come from a hardware background.

There's also vvvv, which is free for non-commercial use and directed towards video. I like poking around, but nothing fruitful has come out of it. It has been months since I last touched it.

Nevertheless, I'll give MAX a go to see if I can penetrate the surface at least...

I would rather make music then build from the ground up something that has already been made.

I also own a G2 and have many friends who are masters at programming Max, Supercollider and Pd. One told me that in order to have made anything near one of my patches with the G2 it would have taken me at least 8 years to get my head around Max.

The only thing I see blocking a musician from buying Kyma is the price. But compared to everything else, there is no competition.

The MAX/MSP/Jitter language is supremely well crafted and is constantly being improved and added to. You can do anything you want with it. It costs substantially less than a G2 or Kyma, but that is precisely because you have to program it yourself.

A large part of the price of Kyma and G2 (and Lexicon and Eventide, etc.) pays for programming.

So either you program it yourself, or you pay someone else to do it for you.

So either you program it yourself, or you pay someone else to do it for you.

I'd rather compose music than programming. I studied Max/MSP but I stopped using it the day I gave my exam about computer languages at the Conservatory and never opened it again but I have seen people doing absolutely amazing stuff with it.
It isn't my cup of tea!_________________homepage - blog - forum - youtube

Quote:

Politics is the entertainment division of the military industrial complex - Frank Zappa

Last edited by seraph on Thu May 14, 2009 1:42 pm; edited 1 time in total

I don't make much of a distinction, personally. For a lot of my work, the program is the composition._________________Chris Muir
http://www.eardrill.com <– My jobby (more than a hobby, less than a job)

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